Video: 14-month sentence for Kalameu Paulo, drunk driver who seriously hurt 2

| Crime | West Seattle news

(Paulo at right, with her lawyer, and prosecutor Amy Freedheim at left)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

“You took his life – the life Logan had.”

That’s what the family of 29-year-old Logan Wicker, one of two people critically injured when a drunk driver T-boned his car in South Delridge last June, told that driver, 25-year-old Kalameu Paulo of Seatac, in a tearful King County Superior Court sentencing hearing this afternoon.

Logan, who spent more than three months in the hospital, spoke too: “My life was really good before … it’s been changed (forever) … I hope she can never do this to anybody again.” He begins our 23-minute unedited video of all who spoke at the hearing, including, at the end, the judge:

Though she chose not to speak, the other victim in the crash was in the courtroom too. After hearing about the effects of what he acknowledged was a “shattering … tragedy,” Judge Dean Lum formally sentenced Paulo to the recommended 14-month term, though he wondered aloud, “Is this justice? I don’t know.”

As reported here last month, Paulo struck a plea bargain, pleading guilty to two counts of vehicular assault, with prosecutors dropping a third charge of hit-and-run.

But that was the crime, as the deputy prosecuting attorney told Judge Lum, that disturbed Logan’s family the most – “disgust(ed)” them, as Logan’s stepfather put it; the night of the crash, according to the police report, she and her passengers got out of her van after she ran a stop sign and crashed into Logan’s car at 17th and Cambridge.

(WSB photo from June 23, 2013; victims’ car is out of view, blocked by the van)
They were stopped by police as they walked westbound across Delridge Way.

Paulo spent two and a half weeks in jail after being arrested last June and has been in the day-reporting CCAP program since, while undergoing alcohol treatment, her lawyer said. She was taken into custody at the end of the hearing, to start her sentence immediately, and the King County Jail Register confirms she was re-booked as of midafternoon. When she is released from jail, she will be in “community custody” – probation – for more than a year; she also faces a long list of other sanctions and conditions, including restitution payments to be determined later.

Neighbor January 31, 2014 (8:11 pm)

No it’s not justice. Let’s not confuse our legal system with justice.

alki resident January 31, 2014 (8:18 pm)

14 months, what an insult.

Paul January 31, 2014 (8:37 pm)

14 months? What is wrong with our justice system? Drug offenders receive longer sentences. This should be a 10-year sentence, minimum.

M. January 31, 2014 (8:40 pm)

“…is this justice? I don’t know.” Pondered the Judge.
Seems an odd thing for any Judge to say.
14 months critcally injuring others is very lenient.

WSgal January 31, 2014 (8:55 pm)

Thank you for the video of this. Seeing Logan speak was just heartbreaking, and his mother’s comments… it’s unbelievable Logan is alive. 14 months is not enough time. I agree with AlkiResident, such an insult to the victims.

Cait January 31, 2014 (8:56 pm)

So glad Logan is recovering, I wasn’t sure what had happened to him after this accident and was just wondering how he was doing today. I’m glad to see him doing well, but sad to hear how lenient this sentence was. Great job speaking your mind, Logan – wishing you the best. – Cait Parks, WSHS ’04.

Disgusted January 31, 2014 (9:02 pm)

This woman has no regret for her actions until the reality sets in that she will be in a jail cell. Absolutely disgusting. Save the tears. What kind of moral-less person runs from an auto accident? One who is only worried about getting away with their irresponsible decision.

I believe that if he could have, many more years would have been added to this sentence. Prayers, peace, and love for Logan and his family.

Karma will serve her.

This is the letter I wrote the judge before sentencing..

I have known Logan Wicker for many years, and there not a more upstanding and good person I have met throughout my life. He is a man who cares about his family, his friends, and his community with passion and love. He, as every other person, is a person who should not have to worry about his life being changed forever by a drunk driver as he is driving home from work.

Worry is a feeling that a man gets when he loses his job, and doesn’t how he will feed his family, pay his bills, and provide for the ones he loves most.

Worry is the look I saw in the eyes of the men and women I transported to Kuwait, preparing to fight a war, and knowing that they may never again feel American soil.

Worry is what keeps us up at night when we know our beloved children are lying in a hospital bed which they may never leave, and that they may never again open their eyes.

Worry should not be the thought of being arrested after fleeing a drunken hit-and-run, or worried about how to shorten an impending incarceration for your decisions.

I have never met Ms. Paulo, but her actions that night, her irresponsible decision, and choice, not only to drink and drive, but also to flee the scene of an accident, and having the audacity to try and receive a reduced sentence, shows me that she a person of weak moral character that has no regard for human life, and a person that showed her true colors that early morning.

If only she had been a few seconds earlier or later, Logan may never have woken up.

It will be much longer than 14 months for Logan to recover, much longer. If this sentence is imposed, it will be proof that regardless of the actions of an individual, a slap on the wrist will be enough punishment to forgive them of their horrible decision and to go about living their life like their poor choice has affected no one.

Throughout our lives we all make mistakes, some much bigger than others. But it is how we learn from and change our ways from these mistakes that molds the content of our character. We all pay for our mistakes, either in this life, or in the next.

As a Judge you took an oath, an oath to administer justice, and 14 months is no justice in the decision to drink, drive, and flee the scene that has changed a man’s life forever.

WSPS January 31, 2014 (9:26 pm)

No surprise to Me, soft sentence by soft Judges
elected by Liberal voters, End of Story.

Breezy January 31, 2014 (10:06 pm)

Wow…how about we put an end to ‘get a reduced sentence if you plead guilty’ crap? A real injustice, just awful.

Nw mama January 31, 2014 (10:06 pm)

Disgusted- Nicely said.

SD January 31, 2014 (10:21 pm)

That is a travesty of a sentence.

LoganSupporter February 1, 2014 (12:20 am)

I am shocked as I hear the judge state a 14 month sentence. This disgusts me for all the hurt and damage she has done to Logan and the passenger, his family and friends. What is wrong with our judicial system and why is he sympathetic for the reckless, irresponsible and pathetic driver? Good sentence judge – nicely done.

Dazed February 1, 2014 (10:03 am)

Wow. She’s going to be out in 14 months while this man has to deal with his injuries for the rest of his life. Sad, very sad.

carole February 1, 2014 (10:03 am)

Again, sentence maximums are set by the legislature and judges are constrained by those. Write to Olympia.

old timer February 1, 2014 (12:48 pm)

Trouble with juries is, the composition can be manipulated to give you a panel of bleeding hearts that would acquit.
And, jury trials make for expense from the prosecutors budget.
Only way is mandatory sentences and terms from the state, and even there, an appeal to a jury could cause the same ‘no justice’ ending.
Did Paulo get a mandatory breathalyzer interlock as part of the deal?
Wait until she’s caused another DUI damage?
This really sucks.

ScubaFrog February 1, 2014 (1:38 pm)

We’ve got to blame the prosecutor for this “deal”. 14 months is despicable, and a slap in the face to the victims. The prosecuting attorneys at the city (Pete Holmes), and King County (Dan Satterberg) have been abysmal.

Kayo February 1, 2014 (1:41 pm)

My heart goes out to Logan and the other victim of this crash. Fourteen months is a ridiculously light sentence for almost killing two people. I just shake my head in disbelief. How is this justice?

anonyme February 1, 2014 (2:29 pm)

I think that she should be required – for eight hours a day, on a daily basis for the entire whopping 14 months – to cross 35th Ave at unmarked crosswalks. In dark clothing. At night.

Bubba February 1, 2014 (2:47 pm)

14 months is a JOKE!! This “woman” (if you want to call her that) damn near killed my best friend and that’s all she gets? I’m just grateful that Logan is alive

NotMe February 1, 2014 (2:55 pm)

Well, I guess it’s a good thing some of you aren’t the judge. And based on the comment from ‘anonyme’ – you would give her a death sentence? Not sure that’s a healthy way of thinking.
.
If some of you are this digusted with the judge’s sentence, remember it when it comes time for his election. Get rid of these lenient judges.

Kravitz February 1, 2014 (3:53 pm)

14 months. What a joke. The people she’s hurt get a life sentence with their injuries and changed lives. Hopefully karma will get her while she’s in prison. And to her family, if they are reading this… shame on you as well. Great job raising a pathetic human with no regard for anyone but her drunk self.